My Kids.

(Last Halloween)

I usually write about...well, writing. It is a big topic for me and when I sit down to do a blog I tend to focus on that subject. With Summer here once again the time I get to spend with my kids increases, bed times are later and they are home throughout the day. So I figured today I'd talk a little bit about the two awesome little people I share my life with.

Anastasia my oldest. She is me reborn as a girl.  Although lately she has reached the age that she is liking the more girly things in life. Still this is my movie buddy (since her brother can't stand anything scary) and she is a little cheerleader for my writing. I am always amazed by how focused she is, since she was five(I kid you not) she has wanted to be a chef. She will find recipes and get us to let her make them. Now I won't be shocked if she hits 18 and wants to become a marine biologist or a rodeo clown, but for now I get to reap the delicious rewards of her wanting to be a chef(did I mention she likes making cupcakes?).

Gabriel is quite different from me. He is more like his mother, which isn't a bad thing. Still if he got one thing from me it was his imagination. We have been reading The Rithmatist (Brandon Sanderson) together taking turns reading parts out loud. If you talked to Gabe you'd instantly fall in love, he has a way of saying things you wouldn't expect a nine year old to say. I remember when he was six I asked him why he colored on the wall, his response was, "I had not thought on it much past it being fun, though if I concentrate on it now I can see why you'd be angry." Not smiling at that moment was an impossible task.

I have said before how much these two inspire me to keep working hard on becoming a successful author. To be able to show them they can follow their dreams is every bit my goal as anything else.

Anyway that is some of my family, they are away at their grandmother's so that is probably why I feel all gushy about them at the moment.. As always have fun and keep writing.

CPs and Awards.

So I have been doing this writing thing for a while. I've even been serious about getting it out there for a few years now. I have had some really great people help me with it along the way. They have really been invaluable in keeping me motivated and helping make my work stay on point.

One of those people is a CP I met a few months ago. It is a hard thing to trust another person with work that isn't quite there yet. Not just trust them to read your stuff, but to be able to give you a critique that is valuable and helps you progress forward. I have heard horror stories about bad matches. Still I think it is the same as finding a new friend, when you know you know. I have been lucky with finding this person and can't wait to work through future projects.

So as a segue to that....

Mark over at Left and Write created a new award. The Super Blogger Award, an award for someone that inspires you in the blogging community. The rules are that the person presented with this blog has to reveal one secret about themselves then pass the award on. Simple and fun. I like it. And since I am talking about my awesome CP, I will have to give this award to S.K. Anthony.

She has been great in keeping me motivated and in check and getting to read her awesome story has been a huge inspiration. So there you go, the super S.K. Anthony.

Anyway, help Mark get his award out there and give it to someone who inspires you. As always have fun and keep writing.

Updates.

Decided to update on what I have been doing this week. I have been staying up late researching and working and editing so much, I am starting to feel like a writing version of Batman.

First, I am over half way done with writing the first draft of Ashes and have the rest of the story mapped out fairly well. So I'm expecting much smoother writing sessions in the next couple of weeks.

Also I got some of the final art for my second cover. I will be presenting that in about two weeks. Can't wait for everyone to see it. Also anyone interested in helping in the reveal, please let me know.

A bit back my book was added to the Wayman Publishing collection and I have seen a little bump in sales since. So thanks to Wayman and all who purchased the book, hope you are enjoying it.

I have some other things in the works like giveaways and such to be on the look out for soon.

Anyway, hope everyone is staying productive. As always, have fun and keep writing.

Inspi...Lasers?..what?

Okay two weeks in a row and no IF...what? Well As my time is being consumed with writing I tend to fail at other things. Like getting blogs up. I am blogging now, you say, why not just do the IF? Well my friends it is because I feel the need to share something new that is happening with my writing. Something that I am very excited about.

I need another project like I need an extra hole in my...well you get the picture. So what is this grand new project? Glad you asked. For a few years now I have had this story idea floating around in this jug I call a head. As someone who mostly reads and writes Fantasy, having this story was somewhat unique for me. Why? Because it is a Sci-Fi story.

I know, right? So why have I not tried to write it? Well I do enjoy reading Science Fiction. Still comparatively the amount of books I've read in the genre is quite small. While I enjoy the idea and characters I have come up with, I always feared some of the terms and tech might not come off as strong with me writing it. So on the back burner it sat.

Enter friend. So a life long buddy...like for real I have known him since I was eleven....gets to talking with me about my writing. He is also an aspiring author and guess what he loves to read? Exactly. So we just started brain storming and it has gone amazingly. The out put and story ideas are just flowing. So I get to add a new word to my writing life—collaboration. 

I am still focused on Ashes, but when it is done. I plan on spending at least a portion of my time working together to get this book in shape. I can't wait to share more about it.

So has any of you ever collaborated for a novel or something else? How did it go?

Anyway hope you are all enjoying your weekend. As always have fun and keep writing.

Man of Steel.....!!!!!!!!!

Okay short disclaimer. I will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible for people that have not seen it, but I will be sharing my views. Also I will try not to make it too long, but I may gush about a few times.

One of my earliest memories is of me in my Superman PJs—cape included— jumping off of things pretending I could fly. So I knew if I was going to review the movie I watched Friday morning honestly, I have to think on it as two different people. The Superman fan, and the movie fan.

So I did the only thing rational there was to do...I went and saw it again today.

I had three fears going into this movie.

Lois Lane: I love Amy Adams, but I was worried she would not be the Lois I wanted to have in a movie since I saw Margot Kidder play her in the 1978 version with Christopher Reeves.

So in my opinion how did she do? Far surpassed my expectations. This to me will be the Lois I now set my standards by. She was smart and had emotion and never felt like she was waiting around to be rescued, even when she needed to be.

Clark Kent: If there is a Superman there must be a Clark Kent. He is Superman's mask in some ways and the real person he is in others. If Brandon Routh got one thing right in Returns it was his Clark. 

So how did it go? I don't want to spoil anything so I will say this. The jury of my mind is still out on this one.

The action: If there is one thing a reboot gives us is a chance for technology to try and aid in the story telling. To bring things from our imagination to life. It is so important that what happens aids the story and doesn't pull us out when we see it.

So how did they manage? This movie had the best action scenes from not only any comic movie I have ever seen, but from any movie I have ever watched. The CGI blended with the live action so seamlessly I couldn't tell you in parts which was which. Truly above anything else this movie's portrayal of the action was stunning beyond belief. It was heavy and real and had lasting consequences. 

So was it all good? Well for me there are two glaring moments that when I watched them the first time kind of hurt me. I don't want to spoil anything so I will say it like this. The "handling" of Jonathan Kent, really bugged me. Also there is a scene at the end and when you watch it you will know of what I speak. This was pulled from a comic so it isn't without merit, but the way they did it just had me shaking my head. 

As I watched it the second time, it was eased some since the shock had worn off and I feel it doesn't change my views of this movie.

So as a whole what did I think? This movie is the movie I have been waiting on. If you are a comic fan or a fan of the TV shows and movies there are so many little shout outs to what has come before. Including a scene that shows the space ship from the Donner movies in a retelling of the history of Krypton. I am not a DC fan or a Marvel fan. I am a comic fan and a movie fan. If I was asked to be honest I would say this movie has set the bar high for what can be done with a comic adaptation. I watched Avengers twice in theaters and I watched it once a day for a week after I bought the Blu-ray. Still it didn't hit an emotional core inside of me that this movie manages.

There is a scene where Superman is floating above the military. This image of him floating is not some new idea, but the way it was shot was nothing short of a masterpiece. There is another scene in which Superman has to overcome something that should have defeated him. When the music comes in and you see his determination it just fills you with emotion.

I recommend this movie to everyone. There is some language, so if you have small kids be aware of it, it is very little. I will probably go and see it again since I enjoyed it even more the second time around.

Once again I believe a man can fly.

Insomnia.

Hey first I want to say that I won't be posting an Inspiration Friday tomorrow. One because I would like to leave the interview up for a few days. Two, because tomorrow my brain will be filled with one thing and one thing only...Man of Steel. Okay onto the post.

It's been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.
 
Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he's had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people's fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets--and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.
 
Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia's eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he's gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it's Parker.
 
Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Finn from J. R. Johansson's INSOMNIA.

1. Hey Finn, nice shirt. So what does it take to be friends with someone like Parker?

Thanks! I have uh...a lot of them. Being friends with Parker is never dull. He's not exactly predictable.

2. If you could describe yourself in one word what would it be?

Wow...one word is kind of limiting for someone as awesome as me. Let's go with - Loyal

3. How about Parker what else can you tell us about him?

Parker Chipp was born on August 17th in Oakville...oh, not what you meant huh? Haha, I don't know, he's a good guy. He's a good friend. Is there more to say than that?

4. Okay the dreaded desert island question, you're there you have three things, what are they?

Kung Fu movies, something to watch them on, and an endless supply of bananas. Also, when you send help, could you do it by helicopter? I had a really bad dream about a cruise ship once. 

5. Before we go, is there anything interesting you'd like to share about yourself or your friend?.

No...not him, let's focus on me. I like to take long walks on the beach, sip tea from the cups with the little saucers, and I write poetry in my sleep...with my toes. I'd like someone to hold my hand while I do those things...if she happens to be hot and wears a cheerleader uniform, I won't complain a bit.

Awesome Finn thanks for stopping by.

If anyone would like to know more about Insomnia or the author, here are some links, along with the two at the top(Author name and Book title :).) Go show some love.

TWITTER

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes&Nobel

As always have fun and keep writing.

Summer Time.

Well the kids are out of school, the weather is hot and for me it is official—Summer is here. 

As a writer what this means to me is, it's time to change my habits again. No more taking the kids to school and getting some quality writing time in while they are there. I now tend to write at night when they go to bed, or early in the mornings when everyone is still asleep.

It is kind of nice to change things up. Still time moves on and it is bittersweet for me. My deadline looms, my first born will be heading off to middle school in a few months and my birthday comes to push me further into my 30s. 

Still, I am here. I am living my dream as a writer and I get to watch as my children take their steps toward becoming adults. Time to throw the ball(which ever variety you prefer) around, jump in a swimming pool, take a weekend vacation to the beach.

Summer is here and I hope you all find it an enjoyable one.

Oh and another thing, I got 100 followers, that is amazing for me and I am glad to have each and every one of you.

As always have fun, and keep writing.

Inspiration Friday!

Inspiration Friday. Every Friday I find a topic and give three things from that topic that inspire me. This is not a favorites list necessarily, though they are some of my favorite things. This weeks topic is Comic Characters.

Well anyone that knows me in person and a few that know me through the interenets, knows I am huge comic fan and also a huge Superman fan. Since it is one week until Man of Steel I figured I'd go full on nerd and talk about the comic characters that inspire me as a writer. Also because I couldn't sleep last night I decided to go ahead and draw all of the pictures for this post, got to love insomnia. 

Since it is no surprise we might as well go with the obvious, SUPERMAN. It is funny as a writer I try to find anything that has to do with writing advice I can. It has become quite common to see people using advice that sounds something like, "Things not to do when creating your hero, be nothing like Superman." Now I know what they mean is on paper(ha comic pun...sorry) Superman just seems too powerful for any kind of good story telling. I agree, limitations are always better for a story than how powerful someone is. Still one of the cool things about being a fan of his comics is I get to see that a good writer can always work with anything to tell a great story. It is something that takes some amount of skill, but overcoming the fact that your hero is supposed to be invincible can make for some really cool ideas. I would be remiss if I left this post and didn't point out what actually makes Supes great. He is the guy that will be wracked with kryptonite and still find the strength to push the kid out of the way of the speeding truck. Will, having been made to believe a villain has killed Lois, still turn that person in to face justice instead of taking it into his own hands. He has at times had to use intelligence to solve what his fist could not and his compassion to show the world a better way. He to me is the definition of hero and he inspires me.

Next we have Colossus from X-men. People love Wolverine and I get it he is a tough guy who is an anti-hero and happens to be played by Hugh Jackman. Even before that he was the one guy in the X-men people wanted to read about. For me though Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin (Colossus) always caught my attention. To me he is the most underplayed character in the whole series of books. First of all lets talk about the cool factor. He can turn his entire body to organic steel, he can lift upwards of 70 tons and while in metal form doesn't need to eat or sleep and can take damage to rival other big hitters. Of course beside being cool, this is not what inspires me about this character. Piotr is an artist, he actually paints. He is someone who falls in love easily and can be hurt emotionally where his powers keep him safe from other forms of damage. I like the idea of this giant indestructible "Tin Man" having such a  big heart and gentle soul. It really makes me think of a character before I write them and wonder what is behind all of the amazing things I want this person to do. Here is to hoping Marvel wakes up and sees the potential this guy has.

Last we have Deadpool. So this character is a foul mouthed mercenary with one liners that make Spider-man seem like he took a vow of silence. He is in love with Bea Arthur from Golden Girls and is fond of breaking the forth wall. How could this silly characters among silly reading material inspire a novelist you say? Humor my dear friends humor. I crack up reading this guys comic because it takes the things that comics and comic fans take quite seriously and just plain makes fun of them. There are many staples in writing, especially in fantasy. I have found that sometimes taking these serious but sometimes over used themes and giving them a humorous twist can be just what a story needs. Beside my mom taught me early on if you can't laugh at life it is going to be a long hard road.

Anyway these are some thing that inspire me. What about you? Have any of read a Comic Book? As always have fun and keep reading.

IWSG

Well the first Wednesday of the month is upon us and that means it is again time for Alex J. Cavanaugh's IWSG.  This is a place for writers to share their insecurities or try to help others with theirs. If you would like to join, follow the link back and sign up.


I guess today the most relevant thing for me to discuss is trying to maintain what you've done and improve upon that. 

My first book has been out for a little over a month now and those that have read it seemed to enjoy it. The reviews so far have been positive and I am greatly appreciative of those that have given me and my work a try. I plan on releasing the second installment in August and as such have been writing like a mad person. The deadline is helping me stay productive, but the worry that I will regress with my writing instead of moving forward seems to haunt me every so often.

I don't think this is a bad thing altogether. If I thought my writing was all amazing and wonderful then I wouldn't be seeking to grow. An artist I love by the name of Jim Lee said and here is the actual quote- "Art is a work in progress. Anytime you think 'I am just kicking ass' that is the end of the road for you—your done. Because I think that's when your perception of your work exceeds what you're actually creating."

Now I don't think he means never be happy with what you do. More so, that anytime you think you have just nailed it and there is nothing better you could do, you are no longer pushing yourself to grow. So in this I am glad to have the nerves and the doubt. I guess my struggle now is not letting that doubt take over. I want to be an author, I have chosen it as much as it has chosen me. If this is going to be how I define myself then I must push past the doubt and insecurities to be the best version of that I can be.

Some cool news Wayman Books put out a press release for Elemental. You can check it out here.HERE.

Anyway these are just some things I'm going through, what about you? As always have fun and keep writing.

Uprising!

I am excited to share the release of Uprising with you all. Below is an interview I did with the author Jessica Therrien.

1. With your second book coming out how much difference is there to the first time around?

It’s more familiar, but just as exciting. I’m a little more crazed because I have a baby now. It feels good to have book 2 coming out, like I’m really an author. It’s finally sinking in.

2. What are some of your writing practices, do you listen to music, have to go to a quiet place?

My favorite place to write is in the passenger side of my husband’s car while he’s driving. We take about a 2 hour trip every weekend to visit my in-laws. It’s prime writing time for me. Baby is asleep. Music is on. Fingers are typing.

3. Is there a certain character or characters you find are easier to write/write about than others?

Both Kara and Alex were loud voices in my head. They decided what they’d do and when. I’m not sure why certain characters take on lives of their own, but I like that they do.

4. If you could be anyone in either of your books who would it be?

I would be Alex in book two. He has THE COOLEST ability. I’d love to have it.

5. Besides the Children of the Gods series is there anything else you're working on?

Yes. I have a few things started, but every time I work on them I feel guilty for not focusing on my series. I still have a 3^rd book to finish. In time I’ll move on to those projects. I’m looking forward to something new.

Thank you for answering all of my questions and good luck on future success.

Anyone Interested in the book or the author can follow the link at the top of the page (The author's name Jessica Therrien) Or any of these at the bottom.

Amazon

goodreads

Barnes & Noble